By Anne C. Woodlen

In 2003, Medicare anticipated buying 200,000 new power wheelchairs for disabled citizens. One of them was me.

Neither Medicare nor the NYS Dept. of Transportation has done any planning for how electric-powered wheelchairs are to safely integrate on the highways with gasoline-powered vehicles. The DOT web site has 9343 documents. Of those, 193 pertain to bicycles; only one is about wheelchairs.

The success or failure of power chairs running with cars, vans and trucks depends on locale and perception. In a recent article (Post-Standard, Nov. 22, “Wheelchair users struggle for safety”), two power chair users complained of being tailed and cut off by drivers, and drivers playing chicken with them, particularly in the City of Syracuse.

My perception, in East Syracuse, is that drivers go out of their way to be protective of my safety. What may seem like tailing also could be a driver lagging behind a chair user, wondering what to expect and what to do next. When I am wheeling on the shoulder of the road, often drivers will completely cross over into the left lane to give me a wide berth. One of the reasons why we need to establish road rules is so that both wheelers and drivers will know who belongs where, and what to expect.

In the City of Syracuse, wheeling is bad. There are curb cuts that are blocked by puddles, sidewalks that are broken or end in construction, pedestrians who are rude and drivers who are aggressive. I have occasionally had drivers come up behind me and frighten me with loud honking, or speed by me cursing and yelling. Drivers who do this are always male and usually young. Testosterone and gasoline can be a bad combination.

When I’m in the street, I try to behave as an automobile driver would on the theory that other drivers will be most prepared to interface with me in that manner. This includes using hand signals, so drivers will know my intentions. Usually, drivers chose to give me the right-of-way, which I accept in order to get out of their way. Sometimes problems arise because drivers are too solicitous.

For example, sometimes I sit by the side of the road, waiting for a break in traffic so I can cross like a pedestrian, but a driver will stop in the middle of the road and wait for me to cross, thus backing up traffic. He wouldn’t stop for a pedestrian; why is he stopping for me? I don’t want special treatment, and I don’t want to be a bad neighbor causing traffic tie-ups. We need some rules and regulations so chairs and cars can run safely together and know what to expect from each other.

I view the shoulder of the road as my space. A good shoulder—like a good road—is wide, flat and smooth. The best shoulder is Widewater Pkwy. between Bridge St. and Towpath Rd. Also good are Kinne St. from Franklin Park Dr. to Exeter, and Exeter from Kinne to Thompson, if you want to take a look at what works, check them out.

What I need for my chair is essentially what you need for your car. Sidewalks don’t work for me. Remember how you felt driving on a road that had repeated ridges? Imagine a much shorter wheelbase, a narrower diameter wheel, and ridges every three feet. I already have chronic renal failure and don’t need more kidney damage, thank you very much. (The red brick sidewalk downtown on Washington between Salina and Fayette is awful for wheelchairs.)

I have found wheeling in East Syracuse to be excellent. My chair has a speed of 6.25 miles/hour, and a range of 22 miles (the range of my kidneys is significantly less). Using my chair, in dry and not-too-cold weather, I do all my own grocery shopping, and go to church, the library, the dry cleaner, the hairdresser and the Post Office. I run my own errands and meet my friends for dinner. This is not only nice for me, but it is also a big saver for the taxpayers. Without my power chair, you would have to pay for increased services from my aides and case manager, not to mention taxi and bus transportation.

It is in the best interests of us all to put more people into power chairs, particularly in view of the decrease in supportive family relationships, but we need to make some plans. First, before any streets are repaved, consideration should be given to widening the shoulders and making them smooth and level. There will be more of us out in chairs in the future. Create a little lane for electric-powered traffic.

I advocate electric scooters for teens between the ages of 14 and 18. Give the kids more power, but not the dangerous power of a car. Put them on the road to learn the rules without putting them in the traffic. Reconceptualize the old “shoulder” as the new “electric lane.”

Constitute a committee of power wheelchairs users to advise the DOT and come up with intelligent, useful rules to enable us all to travel together safely. This year, chair users in Syracuse and Rochester have been killed in traffic. Let’s come up with a plan, now. And, please God, let it not be the DOT making rules and handing them down to us. Let it be power chair users co-authoring the rules. Let those of us who are out in traffic every day teach you what we need, and negotiate with you what we can have.